THE POST-JURGEN KLOPP era began brightly for Borussia Dortmund when they racked up a resounding 4-0 win in their opening Bundesliga fixture against Monchengladbach last weekend.
This evening, it wasn’t as easy.
Dortmund faced Norwegian side Odd – yes, Odd, who eliminated Shamrock Rovers in an earlier round, in their Europa League play-off first-leg and got one hell of a scare.
They were behind after just 13 seconds when Jone Samuelsen scored for the home side. It got worse twenty minutes later when Fredrik Nordvelle added a second.
Incredibly, Espen Ruud made it 3-0 midway through the half.
The shell-shocked German side, now managed by Thomas Tuchel, managed to pull one back before the break through Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and regrouped in the dressing room.
Two minutes after the restart, Shinji Kagawa made it a one-goal game before a long wait for an equaliser.
Eventually, Aubameyang grabbed his second of the match to level affairs while Henrik Mkhitaryan proved the hero of the hour and conjured a winner with just five minutes to go.
At full-time, the guests paid tribute to their travelling support who were their usual passionate selves and surely all the more exhilarated after witnessing such a thrilling encounter.